FFRF ends prayer at Georgia University’s events (Dec. 13, 2012)

North Georgia College & State University will no longer be including prayers at University-sponsored events after receiving a letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

A concerned student informed FFRF that at an event that was mandatory for some students, faculty members led everyone in several Christian prayers. FFRF Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert wrote a letter on Oct. 12, 2012, to the University president asking her to discontinue the practice of praying at University events. “Including prayer at events at which attendance is mandatory is coercive, embarrassing, and beyond the scope of our public university system,” Markert wrote.

An attorney for the school responded on Dec. 13, writing that the president would “remind [all faculty and staff] that prayers shall not be included in University sponsored events.”